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Original poster

Anyone not being picky - and STILL can't find anything?

999 replies

PessimisticOptimist · 11/09/2021 12:03

We've been on the hunt for 18 months. In that time, we've expanded our search area and budget. We've offered on four houses - three times we were outbid by developers and one time they decided not to sell. But nothing has come on for us to view in the last couple of months.

I guess I'm looking for a support group on here to commiserate with me 😂

Everyone we talk to says:

  • The market is crazy right now
  • It will settle down
  • More will become available eventually
  • Just be patient

But I worry about getting priced out of the market if we wait too long. How long do we wait for the "right" house?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
CheltenhamLady · 21/12/2021 15:44

And yet more questions. No exchange for us before Christmas. Solicitors are closed now till Jan 4th. Hey ho....

BennyBean · 21/12/2021 16:12

@CheltenhamLady

And yet more questions. No exchange for us before Christmas. Solicitors are closed now till Jan 4th. Hey ho....
sorry to hear that, hope everything goes okay in the New Year
languagelover96 · 21/12/2021 16:51

@RidingMyBike

Gosh what on earth questions did they suddenly need answering this late in the process?!

Although I remember all sorts of barmy questions taking ages when DH was selling his flat. Including about rights of way across the property. It was on the third floor!

We've booked a viewing of the probably-ex-student-house for Thursday. Planning to spend this evening looking up its previous sale history and if any old photos are available. We're now registered with seven EAs but this is the only property any of them suggested we view!

You are in my prayers

Good luck.

MiracleBaby2022 · 21/12/2021 19:13

@BennyBean oh gosh - life's too short isn't it. Tell them to get on with it! Not much help I know...

BennyBean · 21/12/2021 19:29

[quote MiracleBaby2022]@BennyBean oh gosh - life's too short isn't it. Tell them to get on with it! Not much help I know... [/quote]
it is a help thank you, i really do feel like telling them their making the process more stressful
they need to get moving so we can all get on with life it's rubbish enough with the world it is today in a pandemic

CheltenhamLady · 22/12/2021 13:21

So do I. Honestly, issues with the indemnity policy and the wording. Our Solicitors have told the buyer it is a legal document and the wording can't be changed, but....

sasparilla1 · 22/12/2021 14:08

Hello! I haven't been on here ages as we got totally fed up and despondent about ever finding something suitable (drive with parking for 3 cars, 1 mile limit from school, 3 good sized bedrooms and not a postage stamp sized garden) and within budget. Then we all got Covid.

But we found one!! We don't have an AIP so my amazing mortgage broker is currently working on it, but the vendor has accepted our offer subject to the AIP. The affordability is there, we have a good deposit so not sure what can go wrong.....

Everything is very firmly crossed at the moment.

BennyBean · 22/12/2021 14:31

@CheltenhamLady

So do I. Honestly, issues with the indemnity policy and the wording. Our Solicitors have told the buyer it is a legal document and the wording can't be changed, but....
why can't things go smoothly they really need to change the laws on buying and selling it's getting tougher and longer i won't think about packing until after we have exchanged
Eastie77Returns · 22/12/2021 20:40

Sorry to hear some of you are going dealing with tricky buyers and policy issues. This is all just such a ridiculous faff.

Well as the years draws to a close I’m no closer to knowing when I’ll move. I’m now beginning to regret asking the solicitor who handled my sale to also deal with my purchase. The quality of her service seems to have declined. She answers my emails (eventually) but appears to be dragging things out. She’s had the Searches she requested for 2.5 weeks now and is meant to be sending me a report to review but I’ve received nada. Chased again today and she said she “might send it before Christmas otherwise it will be after Christmas”. I asked about Enquiries (when will she send to vendors solicitor) and she ignored the question entirely.

I’m now concerned there is some kind of issue and this is why it’s taking so long to send the report.

Oh and the EA informs me of the vendor isn’t happy about me booking a structural survey, even though she is doing exactly the same for the house she is buyingHmm

FanGirlX · 22/12/2021 21:17

Just popping back in to say hi. Can't wait for all these houses to appear on the market in January 😀.

TBF I haven't looked for the last month. Hopefully we will all get our Christmas wish of a nice new house 🎁

DanisEndo · 22/12/2021 21:40

Anyone else having issues with Rightmove today? Not letting me log in, changed password and still not! Saying sign in error but I know the password and email are right....

We finally have an offer on our maisonette and are going for a second viewing to a house which is currently off market tomorrow - it ticks A LOT of boxes but has a couple of biggies in the cons list.

If not this place then we will have to keep our fingers crossed for there being new listings in the new year otherwise we will have 0 houses to pick from! Worried we'll loose our buyer!!

BennyBean · 23/12/2021 10:10

@Eastie77Returns

Sorry to hear some of you are going dealing with tricky buyers and policy issues. This is all just such a ridiculous faff.

Well as the years draws to a close I’m no closer to knowing when I’ll move. I’m now beginning to regret asking the solicitor who handled my sale to also deal with my purchase. The quality of her service seems to have declined. She answers my emails (eventually) but appears to be dragging things out. She’s had the Searches she requested for 2.5 weeks now and is meant to be sending me a report to review but I’ve received nada. Chased again today and she said she “might send it before Christmas otherwise it will be after Christmas”. I asked about Enquiries (when will she send to vendors solicitor) and she ignored the question entirely.

I’m now concerned there is some kind of issue and this is why it’s taking so long to send the report.

Oh and the EA informs me of the vendor isn’t happy about me booking a structural survey, even though she is doing exactly the same for the house she is buyingHmm

Sorry to hear you are having issues too, your solicitor should have sent you the reports to the searches by now there yours not hers you have paid for them i think buying and selling is a nightmare now this is going to be our last move it's too stressful hope things start moving along quicker after Christmas for everyone
areyouhavingagiraffe · 23/12/2021 11:07

How is everyone doing? So I haven't had any viewings for two weeks. An EA did call ma bout an off-market place last week but I decided not to view, needed a break. Is anyone else getting lots of generic e-mails from EA telling us about how Boxing Day and the NY is the busiest time for searching on RM, and we should be ready for the frenzy. I think these e-mails are maybe more targeted as prospective Sellers, convincing them to market now so they don't miss the Boxing Day rush. WTF. I am not ready for another frenzy to be honest. I think I might sit this one out for a bit, and maybe re-start mid-January (after my birthday as I would like to enjoy that). Also, I don't see what the panic is about now. In April/ May I was panicking, as I had a Buyer and was going mental with viewings all the time. But I pulled out of a Purchase and went ahead with my Sale. Staying at folks, which is not ideal but cannot complain as there is loads of room, so I just feel like I don't want to partake in the feeding frenzy. I THINK that prices may have stabilised a little, maybe.....I dunno!

BennyBean · 23/12/2021 13:00

@areyouhavingagiraffe

How is everyone doing? So I haven't had any viewings for two weeks. An EA did call ma bout an off-market place last week but I decided not to view, needed a break. Is anyone else getting lots of generic e-mails from EA telling us about how Boxing Day and the NY is the busiest time for searching on RM, and we should be ready for the frenzy. I think these e-mails are maybe more targeted as prospective Sellers, convincing them to market now so they don't miss the Boxing Day rush. WTF. I am not ready for another frenzy to be honest. I think I might sit this one out for a bit, and maybe re-start mid-January (after my birthday as I would like to enjoy that). Also, I don't see what the panic is about now. In April/ May I was panicking, as I had a Buyer and was going mental with viewings all the time. But I pulled out of a Purchase and went ahead with my Sale. Staying at folks, which is not ideal but cannot complain as there is loads of room, so I just feel like I don't want to partake in the feeding frenzy. I THINK that prices may have stabilised a little, maybe.....I dunno!
Having a break will give you a stress free Christmas and Birthday have a lovely time lets see what next year brings it's got to be better than this one surely Happy Christmas everyone
RidingMyBike · 23/12/2021 17:10

I popped into a couple of EA today to register as I was in town centre shopping. One told me they had nothing that met my criteria but then told me very excitedly that Boxing Day is the busiest day on RM and there would be loads coming on then. So I asked what they had coming up and she looked a bit sheepish and admitted they were launching 3 tiny houses that day!

I've also had problems logging on and haven't managed to at all since yesterday - looks like there is a problem?

RidingMyBike · 23/12/2021 18:00

We also viewed the ex-student house today. It was much nicer than any student house I've ever lived in! DH isn't at all sure about it - the bedrooms are smaller than our old house but there are many(!) more rooms so stuff that was previously stored in bedrooms wouldn't need to be?! There was definitely stuff that needed doing - broken tiles in porch, front garden/drive was a mess, electric sockets in very strange places, I'd want the roof and the many(!) velux windows checking but that would all be well within budget.

Fortunately it's been on the market for months so no rush to make a decision - the EA is going to ask for feedback after Xmas. I asked why it had been on so long and the size/layout of bedrooms was mentioned, along with it being rather bland!

Eastie77Returns · 23/12/2021 19:05

Enjoy your birthday @areyouhavingagiraffe!

I’ve also received the emails exhorting me to gear up for a busy Boxing Day/New Year. Can’t muster up any enthusiasm. Let’s see what January brings and if my purchase actually goes through.

My solicitor is now on leave until Jan 4th so another two weeks twiddling my thumbs waiting for the report she has apparently been writing up after receiving Searches back weeks ago.

Starseeking · 23/12/2021 21:50

@DanisEndo

Anyone else having issues with Rightmove today? Not letting me log in, changed password and still not! Saying sign in error but I know the password and email are right....

We finally have an offer on our maisonette and are going for a second viewing to a house which is currently off market tomorrow - it ticks A LOT of boxes but has a couple of biggies in the cons list.

If not this place then we will have to keep our fingers crossed for there being new listings in the new year otherwise we will have 0 houses to pick from! Worried we'll loose our buyer!!

I had this today, and wondered what was going on. All my saved search criteria gone, and my saved drawn searches vanished, as well as my saved properties that I'm tracking.

Sounds like it wasn't just me, which is good to know. I expect they'll probably fix whatever the issue is in the next day, given the deluge of properties that we are told will be listed on Boxing Day!

Starseeking · 23/12/2021 21:54

@Eastie77Returns

Sorry to hear some of you are going dealing with tricky buyers and policy issues. This is all just such a ridiculous faff.

Well as the years draws to a close I’m no closer to knowing when I’ll move. I’m now beginning to regret asking the solicitor who handled my sale to also deal with my purchase. The quality of her service seems to have declined. She answers my emails (eventually) but appears to be dragging things out. She’s had the Searches she requested for 2.5 weeks now and is meant to be sending me a report to review but I’ve received nada. Chased again today and she said she “might send it before Christmas otherwise it will be after Christmas”. I asked about Enquiries (when will she send to vendors solicitor) and she ignored the question entirely.

I’m now concerned there is some kind of issue and this is why it’s taking so long to send the report.

Oh and the EA informs me of the vendor isn’t happy about me booking a structural survey, even though she is doing exactly the same for the house she is buyingHmm

Sorry to hear your solicitor is delaying things. She probably couldn't be bothered completing it, knowing the Christmas holidays are so near, and it's easier to string you along.

I hate that there's so many moving parts in purchasing a property that it can be so difficult pinpointing exactly where the issue lies, especially if you are selling and buying simultaneously.

I had that issue with my vendor, and was allowed to do survey in the end. Nothing untoward or unexpected came up, fingers crossed yours is the same, once they agree to it!

Momniscient · 26/12/2021 08:28

Merry boxing day, house hunters Grin Anyone going to be surfing RM on the "huge rush" today?

RidingMyBike · 26/12/2021 08:39

I've already looked today. Wonder if the 'huge rush' is later on Boxing Day Hmm?!

I've had an email today from OnTheMarket listing two new properties- both tiny and not in the area we want. Nothing different on RM at all.

dubyalass · 26/12/2021 08:39

I just had a quick look at RM and to my surprise there are actually quite a few new houses on, plus a lot of reductions. Nothing in my search area but it gives me a bit of hope that things might improve in the new year!

DanisEndo · 26/12/2021 10:19

Still can't get logged into Rightmove! Feels like I've lost an arm along with all my saved searches and drawn areas..... Blush

I THINK we might make an offer on a house Monday...... it's currently off the market. Ticks all our boxes BUT backs onto a Trainline so taken a bit of time to think about it and see what comes on today - a fat nothing! Some mad Boxing Day rush aye?!

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas xxx

Eastie77Returns · 26/12/2021 14:35

No ‘Boxing Day Frenzy’ hereHmm

I suppose Estate Agents will begin promoting a ‘New Years Frenzy’, ‘Spring Frenzy’…

Danis my friend bought a property that backed into a train line, just a few metres away from a fairly busy station in a London suburb. She told me she got used to the noise and didn’t hear it after a while. I didn’t believe her but then house sat for a week and by day 3 or 4 I had also tuned it out.

RidingMyBike · 26/12/2021 15:44

Ugh there's even one come up today that I thought might be a possible, then I realised the EA has put it in the wrong place on the map - same road name is near city centre and also in an outlying village. So house in outlying village and priced accordingly appears to be in excellent city centre, walk to station and shops type location.

AARRGGHHH.